Good Foreign Films.....

[lwien]

Ok, so I know in a multi-national medium such as this, foreign films can mean that they are from just about anywhere, so for this thread, lets keep it just to those films that were written and spoken in any other language than English but presented with English subtitles.

I can list a slew of ones that were excellent that I've seen over the years, but I just saw one yesterday that deserves a look-see for those that like ghost stories. Check out a Spanish film called "The Devil's Backbone". VERY well done. Liked it a lot.

When one is born and raised on American films, it is really refreshing to see films done elsewhere, as there are some nuances that make watching these films really enjoyable.

 

[djonkoman]

watched ben X a while ago, a flemmish movie(so I could watch it witthout subtitles, they were in the download however)
it also remembered me a bit about how I was in elementary, wich is nice sice I was just trying to remember how I felt back then(I know it but can't feel it) before I watched it, but I was never able to, maybe I surpressed it(from hindsight I was in a depression or close to it at some points back then)

also flodder, it's a tv-series with 3 movies, some of the few good dutch movies I think(good as in funny to watch, it's comedy)
I think you can download the mocies with subtitles, the 2nd movie is also partly in english(they go to america)
don't know about subtitles for the tv-series
the first or one of the first episides also involves weed btw(wich I only realised after watching then all again a while ago, when I was younger and saw that episode I thought it was a cig, but it was a joint, and that joint reoccurs a few times during the episode and eventually causes an explosion)
it's about a criminal asocial family placed in a rich neighboorhood

 

[lwien]

Yeah, I hate films that are dubbed. I remember whan I watched both versions of Das Boot way back when.
The sub-titled version was sooooooo much better. One of the best WWII films that I've ever seen.

 

[jeffp]

Yeah, I hate films that are dubbed. I remember whan I watched both versions of Das Boot way back when.
The sub-titled version was sooooooo much better. One of the best WWII films that I've ever seen.

What's Up, Tiger Lilly? is the exception to that re dubbed.
Also in the late seventies a channel on UHF ran The Honeymooners and The Three Stooges dubbed in Spanish.
Imagine that. Could anything be funnier?

 

[wilf789]

La Haine is one of my favourite films, and one of the best ever of its genre I think.

Excellently shot and edited with a very compelling storyline.

 

[Plotinus]

I am a big fan of Korean cinema. The best of this in my opinion is "Mother", which is conveniently available on Netflix instant at the moment. A tight whodunit that follows an aging woman as she tries to prove her mentally retarded son's innocence in a murder case.

Other good examples of Korean films: The Host and Oldboy.

Come to think of it though the foreign film that most stuck with me the past year would have to be Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, a Thai...drama (I guess?) about a man who moves with his family out to their country house so that he can die of kidney failure. Well, it's sort of about that. It's an openly surrealist film, but it really stuck with me. Highly recommended.

 

[VWFringe]

I look forward to watching these.

I like movies that let me feel big inside, like a Shakespeare play. Wild Stawberries, Fanny and Alexander, The Princess and the Warrior, all had that effect. And i find it more often in foreign film.

oh, did anybody see, "Enchanted April?" it was a film about nothing, but the way it was told brought a sense of inner peace, not born out of any action or plot device, but just by being so nice, it just "caught up with me" at about the 2/3 mark. i seriously wonder if my movie experiences are anything like other people's

you know they say people shouldn't see a movie for a first date because it leads to a sense of having shared an experience when actually you have two completely different experiences...?

"The Devil's Backbone" huh? i'll look for it. thanks,

 

[lwien]

Just saw another GREAT foreign film from Argentina. It's definitely worth a look-see.

"The Secret in Their Eyes"

Check it out........ A crime drama that will have you chuckling and pondering at the same time. VERY well done.

 

[djonkoman]

funny that this topic comes up again, just a few days ago I began watching the flodder-episodes again (wich I mentioned in my post in this thread earlier)
it's a bit like a dutch version if the trailer park boys btw(but they live in a rich neighboorhood and it's a family not a group of friends, well more recise it's a mother with 5 kids from different fathers, and a dog and an old man in a wheelchair who they call opa(grandfather), but it's never clear who he actually is or of he is even related to them, he also can't talk)

 

[caseball2051]

city of god.

 

[vapirtoo]

Dersu Urzala The Hunter , makes me pine for a backpacking trip to some remote place.

 

[Qbit]

Dersu Urzala The Hunter , makes me pine for a backpacking trip to some remote place.

I absolutely second that one, Vapirtoo. I saw it as a kid and loved it, and then I saw it recently, and still loved it. One of the all time classic Kurosawa films. It's actually spelt 'Dersu Uzala' though.

For something completely different, and for maximum WTFness, try Stephen Chow's 'Shaolin Soccer' (2001) and 'Kung Fu Hustle' (2004). Bruce Lee meets Looney Tunes.

 

[charliedontsurf]

One film I like to show people is Akira, which is a beautiful film. I hate what anime has become and tend to agree initially with people when they tell me they don't like it - but there are a handful of movies and series which show what true greatness there once was in it.

 

[vapirtoo]

thanx Qbit, now people have the proper spelling if they are interested
in viewing it.
FC always on point.

Akira is a classic, what about Ghost in the shell.

We all got a huge kick out of Kung Fu hustle.

Oh sorry for the pun.

 

[steiner666]

The great Swedish films based off of the Millennium book series:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Mn som hatar kvinnor, literally Men Who Hate Women) (2005)

The Girl Who Played with Fire (Flickan som lekte med elden, literally The Girl Who Played With The Fire) (2006)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (Luftslottet som sprngdes, literally The Air Castle Which Got Blown Up) (2007)

And the Spainish horror films "REC" and "REC 2"

Norwegian films "Max Manus" and "Dead Snow" and "Trollhunter" as well

 

[Purple-Days]

La Dolce Vita 1960, F. Fellini
Stars:
Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg

I happen to like dubbed films from Japan... There is just no way to do it well and it always ends up funny.

 

[Aqua]

I recently saw one of Fellini's later films, Amarcord. The plot is loosely based on Fellini's own childhood in facist Italy. It was a wonderful and whimsical film that despite its dated setting and nostalgic mood is still so relatable and meaningful. I feel it can speak to my teenage son as much as Mean Girls

 

[RussyRoo]

city of god.

2nd that.

'The 9th Company' is hella good. About the Soviet War in Afghanistan.

 

[wthanna]

"Downfall" a German movie about the last days of Adolph Hitler in Berlin as the Russians were moving in and his world was falling apart. It was excellent.

 

[t-dub]

If you like Japanese films, Tampopo is fantastic. Its an odd film about food and a woman's dream to run a noodle shop, but it is a great date movie, very sensual. Another classic is "A Taxing Woman" which is about a woman who works for the JRS, Japan's version of the IRS, and her relentless pursuit of "Gondo" a sex hotel chain owner, religious leader, and tax scofflaw who frustrates her at every turn. There is a sequel to this film that completes the story, funny stuff.

t-dub

Edit: I agree, Das Boot (director's cut) in German with English subtitles is an incredible film.

 

[charliedontsurf]

Seven Beauties and Swept Away are two absolutely excellent Italian films from the 60's/70's. Lina Wertmuller directs and they're just.. Superb. SB is a better film, ultimately. The theme is literally what made me pick up the mandolin.

Do you have two hours? This is a completely worthy way to spend it, but be warned it can be a very heavy movie at times. The first 5 minutes are truly beautiful and I sometimes fire it up while I'm sitting, vaping, contemplating for a minute. Just go to google video, type in "seven beauties" and its the only video with any real length. I'd link it, but I have an ongoing minor virus which keeps google from working properly, so... Fuck Bill Gates, I guess?

 

[t-dub]

Wow, interesting opening on that film. And I love this Giancarlo guy strutting around with his cig holder . . . very cool. Reminds me of a film I try to watch once a year: Dr. Strangelove . . . downloading whole film to watch tomorrow.

t-dub

 

[charliedontsurf]

I'm a huge Kubrick fan and Strangelove is my favorite. Lolita is a close second.

We cannot allow... A mineshaft gap!

Fantastic Planet is a very surreal, interesting French science fiction animated film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22sKI6gIBqg

 

[FLskwat]

La Haine and some other Mathieu Kassowitz's movies
Trainspotting
Ken Loach's filmography
C'est arriv prs de chez vous
Kubrick's filmography
Monthy Python's
The Brest Forteress (Russian war movie...OMG!)
Le bruit des glaons
Almost all the movies with actor Albert Dupontel
Almost all the movies with actor Benoit Poelvoorde
Exit through the Gift Shop
Almodovar's filmography
Hitchcock's movies
Belgium movies such as: Dikkenek or Les Barons are really funny!

I could go on for long... but it will be enough for today!

 

[djonkoman]

I've watched trainspotting too, didn't know it wasn't from the US?

especially that toiletscene.... so much implied gore
and that sinking into the carpet, where you see the carpet on the sides is just like the view from that coffin later in the film probably would be

and that the biggest asshole gets trough the best